Every year during the general meeting, there's a slideshow of all the entries into the year's International Exhibition. Not just the ones that were accepted--all entries. Folks get to applaud or even cheer for their friends and fellow chapter members. It was fun to see our chapter represented with artwork by J.Y. Chang, Gemma Gylling, Denise Howard, Mike Purdy, and Chris Swetlin.
Gemma Gylling made the position of national convention director look easy, as usual. This was her last year at the job--she's stepping down so she can focus all those hours of hard work on something else, like creating more art! Congratulations to Gemma on organizing so many successful conventions. We're glad to get you back for chapter-level stuff!
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| Gemma Gylling, Denise Howard, J.Y. Chang at the banquet |
Jackie Chang and I both received our "signature" status, meaning that this was our third year of having work accepted into the International Exhibition.
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| J.Y. Chang and Denise Howard with their signature status certificates |
And finally, I'm honored to say that my "Tree of Character" won the Dixon Ticonderoga Award for Exceptional Merit in the International Exhibition. This comes with a $1000 cash prize, one of the largest given.
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| Denise (left) and Holly Siniscal (right) just as Denise's award was announced. Photo by Gayle Uyehara |
Prior to the festivities, I attended the DC presidents' forum, a two-day event that helps keep all the chapters energized. Jackie and I both took Arlene Steinberg's one-day workshop, "Creative Trompe L'Oeil Made Quicker with Inktense Pencils and Pan Pastels". There was also the general meeting, with fantastic door prizes, raffle prizes, and last-minute spirited bidding on the 39 silent auction pieces. I managed to be the top bidder on Eileen Sorg's "The Surrogate", but it took some effort because everyone else really wanted it, too! The silent auction raised over $5,000 for the CPSA this year. As you may have read elsewhere by now, the piece that brought in the most in the auction was CJ Worlein's composite portrait of CPSA founder Vera Curnow surrounded by several board members and award winners, "Because of Her"; a whole bunch of people pitched in a total of $755 to group-purchase it for Vera as a big surprise. She was speechless!
Here are some other photos I took....
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| That is a whole smoked salmon, served with diced eggs, capers and onions. Hors d'oeuvres before the general meeting! |
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| At the show reception |
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| The turnout for the show reception was huge |
A woman from Japan, Reiko Anisman, who has a piece in the show, made a whirlwind 4-day trip from Japan just to attend the banquet and reception!
Finally, I got better acquainted with Betsy Jones. You may know of Betsy as the main admin for the very popular Colored Pencil Artists and Lovers group on Facebook. She has just moved from Pittsburgh to Sacramento and is joining our chapter, and she is the new national PR Director. We're so pleased to have her with us!
It's hard to say what the best part of attending a CPSA convention is. Connecting with soooo many cp artists from around the country (and the world), making new artist friends, meeting some of the top artists in the medium, sharing ideas, seeing the show pieces in real life, taking a workshop, winning a door prize... I hope you're looking forward to attending next year's convention in Daytona Beach! Gemma will be one of the workshop presenters, and I've been told that all the hotel rooms overlook the beach. Less than 365 days to go!
